Enemies Meet in an Arranged Marriage

Kaon woke up earlier than usual, disturbed by the chirping of birds since morning. It was a dim morning even with the light seeping through the curtains.

“Oh, no training today?”

Kaon, who had been irritably rubbing his forehead, remembered the pleasant fact and recoiled. Come to think of it, today was one of those rare mornings without morning training. Kaon decided to forgive the birds that had disturbed his sleep.

As he lay back in the warm blanket, ready to doze off again, Kaon furrowed his brow. A faint sound, barely audible, had stimulated his sensitive hearing.

“…Is it my imagination?”

Kaon focused again to hear the sound, but nothing came through.

It definitely sounded like something. Feeling uneasy, he wondered if he simply hadn’t fully woken up yet. Instead of wasting the rare moment of rest, he chose to close his eyes again.

“Ugh…”

But as he closed his eyes, a slightly clearer voice reached his ears. Kaon reflexively glanced at the curtains. It was clearly coming from Alessia’s room.

Kaon hesitated for a moment. If it was just sleep talking, it would be unnecessary to intervene. Besides, they hadn’t been talking much lately, and disturbing her sleep might push them even further apart.

“Is something wrong?”

Then suddenly, he remembered Alessia’s cough from yesterday. It might just be worrying over a single cough, but it bothered him nonetheless.

Unable to ignore it, Kaon reluctantly got up and stood in front of the curtains, calling out to Alessia in a soft voice, “Hey.”

“…”

Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no answer from inside. The faint sound had disappeared.

“Are you awake?” Kaon asked, scratching the back of his head. This time, there was still no response.

Maybe it was a needless worry. Just as Kaon turned to leave, “Ugh…”

“…Alessia?”

A stifled groan came from beyond the curtain. Kaon stood still for a moment before stepping closer.

“Ugh…”

As the moaning sound became clearer, Kaon couldn’t wait any longer and pushed aside the curtain, stepping into the room. In the dim light, he saw Alessia curled up on the bed.

‘What’s wrong?’

He wanted to ask what was wrong, where it hurt, but Alessia didn’t seem to be in a state to answer. Feeling awkward for barging into her room, Kaon swallowed his embarrassment and finally approached the bed.

Alessia was clutching the blanket tightly, almost as if she was clinging on to it for dear life. Her face was visible, which was a relief. Gently placing his hand on her forehead, Kaon soon realized.

“Damn it.”

Before he could even think, the curse slipped out. Her forehead was burning with fever. Kaon immediately rushed out of the room.

***

“It seems like just a simple cold. Could be from fatigue, staying in a cold place for too long, various reasons.”

The elderly doctor advised the maid to frequently change the towel and to wipe her down if she sweats heavily. He left after reassuring them not to worry, as he would prescribe medicine that works well for colds.

“Oh dear, what’s going on? She was perfectly fine until yesterday…”

Madeline, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, looked down at Alessia with a sorrowful expression. Her past self—who used to be hostile towards Alessia—seemed long forgotten.

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. They said to rest a bit, but you kept going around in this cold weather with a weak body. No wonder you got sick. Even if it’s not serious, take care of yourself.”

Madeleine exhaled, thinking of the girl who was barely half the size of her own daughter. Then, she got up from her seat, deciding to brew some soup. She headed towards the kitchen with a grim expression.

With the room now quiet after the door closed silently behind Madeline, only the two of them remained. Kaon, who had rushed out to fetch a damp towel to cool down Alessia’s feverish face, muttered as he looked at her flushed face.

“You didn’t even say anything until it got this bad…”

Madeline was right. Even in Kaon’s eyes, Alessia had pushed herself too much. Apart from the mandatory day off, she had participated in all inspections. There was no other way to express it but as excessive.

Of course, Kaon had accompanied Alessia on the inspections as well, but he was a knight trained for combat, while Alessia was not. Considering how she had already subjected her small and frail body to this cold weather without resting, it wasn’t surprising she fell ill.

Kaon removed the hot towel from Alessia’s forehead and replaced it with a freshly soaked one, placing it gently on her round forehead. The blanket rose and fell with her uneven, labored breathing.

‘Who is the foolish one now?’

Kaon was truly bewildered. Alessia was unlike anyone he had ever encountered.

She wasn’t even a real mage, yet she was tirelessly diligent in pretending to be one. Even real mages with actual magical powers weren’t as dedicated, yet she was working hard as if to repay Ferdinand’s kindness.

That was also part of the reason why Kaon couldn’t tell Leonidas about her secret. Despite not being a real mage, Alessia Ingelos was perfectly fulfilling her role better than anyone else, even a mage from the Magic Tower.

Even if another mage were brought in from Ingelos or the Magic Tower, would they be able to match her dedication? In fact, Kaon was half convinced that such a mage didn’t even exist.

The opinions of those who had opposed the idea of a mage coming from Ingelos had changed drastically day by day since the news about Alessia Ingelos being Ferdinand’s long-awaited mage had spread.

Alessia Ingelos was the embodiment of what Ferdinand had longed for in a mage. Diligent, sociable with Ferdinand’s people, and knowing how to serve others. Except for the fact that she wasn’t a real mage, everything else was perfect.

“She needs to take better care of herself…”

Kaon truly couldn’t understand why Alessia was behaving like this. If her goal was to avoid being exposed, she could have just done the bare minimum.

The expectations for a mage, especially one from Ingelos, weren’t that high apart from their ability, so as long as they did the basics, no one would say anything.

But why was she so desperate, going as far as to protect Ferdinand herself, even risking her own health?

“If you’re sick, just say you’re sick. Why is that so difficult?”

Kaon was caught in a mix of incomprehension and an inexplicable feeling as he pondered over the fact that the fake mage who had deceived him and his family seemed to be more helpful than any real mage. Seeing Alessia, who stubbornly endured without even uttering a word about how difficult it was, left him strangely frustrated.

With no answers to his dilemma, Kaon sighed and began soaking the towel in water again, squeezing it out, repeating the same action over and over.

***

Alessia, just waking up from a deep sleep, struggled to lift her heavy eyelids. Her head felt dizzy, and her vision was blurred. Nonetheless, compared to the dizzying and almost collapsing feeling she had experienced in the early morning, she felt considerably better now.

“How long have I been asleep…”

The room was darker than she expected. Winter mornings arrived slowly, and it seemed the sun had yet to rise. Worried that she might not have woken up in time, she heaved a sigh of relief. As she was lost in thought, something lightly fell on her forehead. It was a towel.

Alessia gazed at it quietly. Somehow, occasional refreshing sensations seemed to emanate from it, perhaps the effect of the damp towel.

“Who put this here?”

Since she hadn’t expected her condition to deteriorate so much by evening, she hadn’t asked for any medicine. Lost in thought, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. With a hoarse voice urging the visitor to come in, the door eventually opened.

“Oh, you’re up.”

“Kaon Ferdinand?”

“Looks like your energy’s returning, judging by how you’re sitting up.”

Surprisingly, it was Kaon who entered. After setting a tray on the bedside table, he gestured.

“Still, eat this. Madeline made it in the morning.”

“Madeline? How did she know…”

Steam rose gently from the white dish filled with warm soup. It was a potato soup, boiled thick and fragrant, with several chunks of meat visible, looking tender.

‘Is this a dream?’

It seemed highly likely. Otherwise, how would anyone know that she was sick? Moreover, no one would care for her so sincerely.

“You should eat before taking the medicine.”

After their month-long awkwardness, it was unbelievable that Kaon was taking care of her. Of course, Kaon Ferdinand was capable of such kindness, but still…

She couldn’t figure it out. Alessia gave up thinking further. Anyway, it didn’t seem like reality. Perhaps it was like a wish appearing in a dream, to have someone take care of her when she was sick.

Furthermore, Kaon Ferdinand was unlike anyone Alessia had ever known. So, it wasn’t surprising at all that he would appear in her dream like this.

Continuing to ponder would only worsen her throbbing headache. She relaxed her body and lay down again.

“Your fever still seems to be lingering.”

Ignoring the murmured words, Alessia pretended not to hear. Even in a dream, she didn’t want to care about Kaon Ferdinand.

“I’ll leave this here.”

At that moment, a refreshing sensation was felt on her forehead. It seemed that someone had placed a damp towel there with a cool temperature and a suitable weight.

“…A damp towel?”

The cooling sensation was too vivid to be a dream. It was then that Alessia realized this wasn’t a dream but reality.

 

 

🍉🍉🍉